Windows
Developers | |
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Microsoft | |
Release dates | |
Windows | November 20, 1985 |
Key points
- The most popular and widely supported family of operating system among PC gamers.
- Backward compatibility is high, with newer versions of the operating system capable of running decades old software with minimal issues.
- Have transitioned over to periodical major upgrades biannually since the introduction of Windows 10.
Resources
- Official support
- Windows 10 Update history
- Microsoft Update Catalog - Allows for manual download of updates or device drivers. See related KB article.
Communities
- Microsoft Community - Official community for everything related to Microsoft
- /r/windows10 - Subreddit dedicated to Windows 10
- /r/windows - Subreddit dedicated to Windows in general
General
Command Prompt
The Command Prompt is the command-line interpreter provided by Microsoft for Windows systems and is the not-as-powerful equivalent of the shell in Linux and Mac OS. It can be accessed by going to 'run' and typing 'cmd.exe' or by running a 'Batch file'.
Admin Command Prompt
Windows 8 and later |
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Task Manager
The Task Manager is an application built into Windows that allows for the managing running processes as well as providing information about computer performance.
It can be accessed by any of the following ways:
- Right-click on the taskbar of Windows and select Task Manager.
- Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and select Task Manager.
- Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc to open it directly.
Device Manager
The Device Manager is an application built into Windows that allows for the management of device drivers. It can be accessed from the Control Panel.
Registry Editor
The Registry Editor allows users to edit the Windows registry. It can be accessed by going to 'run' and typing 'Regedit.exe'.
Basic Editing |
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Advanced Search |
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Notes
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Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)
A Blue Screen of Death (a.k.a BSOD or Bluescreen) is an error screen that Windows produces when it encounters an error that it cannot recover from.
DirectX
DirectX is a collection of APIs for Windows that allows programs to interact directly with hardware.
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework for Windows that is required for games built in .NET-aware languages (such as C# or Visual Basic), including those that use XNA. Different games may require different versions of .NET Framework. A list with download links to all versions may be found on MSDN. Windows 8 and 10 users may want to read this.
DLLs
DLL stands for "Dynamic Link Library". DLL files (.dll) are Windows exclusive library files containing code and data that can be used over several applications.
While they can save time for developers, these files can cause problems for the end-user (commonly referred to as "DLL Hell").
Windows 10
Fullscreen optimizations
- Available for DirectX 9 and above; automatically engaged.
- Optimizations combining the benefits of classic exclusive fullscreen mode with that of borderless window mode, by utilizing flip model presentation in a maximized borderless window.
- Have been known to cause frame pacing issues with some games.
- Despite information stated elsewhere online, there is currently no built-in way of system-wide disabling fullscreen optimizations for all executables in Windows 10 v1803 "April Update". Previously, settings existed tied to this in Settings > Gaming > Game bar settings page, but this is no longer the case pending a move to the Display settings > Graphics settings subpage.
Windows 10 (v1607 "Anniversary Update" and later) includes optimizations to the classic exclusive fullscreen mode that attempts to convert games running in the "classic" exclusive fullscreen mode into using borderless window mode with flip model presentation instead. This optimization is completely transparent to the game, and the game and injected tools (such as Special K) will believe and report that the game is running in exclusive fullscreen mode. This allows the use of Windows 10's Game bar as well as other system overlays in games that otherwise would not support them. A side-effect of the flip model presentation used is that it still allows the use of virtual refresh rate techniques such as G-Sync/FreeSync syncing the monitor to the frame rate despite them being configured for fullscreen only.
Disable fullscreen optimizations for an executable |
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Notes
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Check if fullscreen optimizations are being used or not |
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Notes
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Game bar
The Game bar (⊞ Win+G) allows easy capture recording of gameplay screenshots and video while playing a game and is enabled by default in Windows 10. Unfortunately, some games suffer from sporadic but severe FPS drops when the bar is enabled.[2]
Toggle Game bar |
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Toggle Game DVR background recording |
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Game Mode
- Game Mode allows the system to prioritize CPU and GPU resources to the game running in the foreground, and aims to provide an increase of overall frame rate, or peaks, as well as an increase of average frame rate, or consistency.[3]
- Benchmarks indicate the mode have a more profound (but still minimal) effect on computers running limited hardware.[4]
- Microsoft's official support article: Use Game Mode while gaming on your PC
Toggle Game Mode for a game |
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Notes
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Disable driver updates delivered through Windows Update
- Driver updates can only be disabled before they are actually downloaded/installed.
- Not all driver updates will be listed at first, however they can be disabled gradually.
How to temporarily prevent a driver update from reinstalling in Windows 10 |
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Disable memory compression
Change settings in Powershell |
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Search for the name Powershell in the system, and launch it as administrator via RBM.
Write:
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Disable "Control Flow Guard"
In Windows Defender[6] |
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Use this instruction and choose executable. Don't turn off CFG globally - it's a major security breach.
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Disabling Spectre and Meltdown patches
Use InSpectre |
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Turn on ReadyBoost
- This is only necessary on low-end devices with memory concerns, such as on machines with 4 GB RAM or less.
Configure your USB flash drive in Computer to use with ReadyBoost |
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Notes
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Change privacy settings
- May fix stuttering when connected do the Internet.[9]
- Can cause problems in Microsoft Store games such as the Forza series or for other components such as Windows Update.
- Only official supported methods of changing privacy or diagnostics settings are through built-in control panels such as the Settings app or applicable group policy objects (not available for Windows 10 Home users) of the operating system. Third-party tools may introduce unexpected issues or compatibility issues due to forcefully applying system-wide changes that might not have been properly tested or accounted for.
Use Ultimate Windows Tweaker 4 for Windows 10 |
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Go to Security and Privacy and disabled all of the options under "Privacy." |
Backward compatibility
Compatibility mode
- See Windows Compatibility Mode for information on how to use the built-in backward compatibility mode of Windows.
DOS compatibility
For modern versions of Windows (both 32-bit and 64-bit), it is recommended to use DOSBox.
- If you're having trouble getting DOS games to run on older versions of NT (XP & 2000) checkout The Sierra Help Pages.
- In the transition from Windows 9x to NT based versions, DOS compatibility was temporarily maintained, at least for 32-bit editions.
Issues unresolved
Screen recorders, overlays, injectors won't work with Windows Apps
See Windows Store article for this and other Windows Apps related issues.
Issues fixed
Alt F4 doesn't terminate frozen applications
Use SuperF4 |
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Older Games Missing .dll File on Windows Vista and later
- Some .dll files have different names on Windows Vista and later.
- See also DLL is missing from your computer
Copy DLL to folder |
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DirectDraw is broken
This issue actually first materialized in 8.1,[10] unfortunately there is little more that can be done than use a DDraw wrapper:
- DgVoodoo 2, a glide wrapper, also has a DDraw wrapper built-in.
- Direct3D 8 has a very similar issue on 8.1 and later as well[11], however the ddraw wrappers (with an exception to the ones that include a d3d8.dll) do not fix the issue as D3D8 doesn't use ddraw, being the first version of DirectX to deprecate it. Instead use a patched d3d8.dll, the DX8 to DX9 convertor or the d3d8to9 wrapper.
- Users of Windows Vista and on-wards actually benefit from a DDraw wrapper due to it no longer being hardware accelerated on such systems, however the built-in DDraw wasn't completely broken until 8.1.
Older games refuse to start on Windows 8 and later
Install DirectPlay |
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Note: Normally Windows 8+ automatically detects if an application needs DirectPlay or other legacy components when it launches and prompts the user to install DirectPlay, but this requires a certain combination of services to be active such as the Diagnostic Policy Service which are sometimes disabled by the user. |
Force CPU affinity
- Prevents processes from using other CPU cores than the ones allowed, which can work around threading synchronization issues that might exist.
Provisional solution: Task manager |
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Notes
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Permanent solution: customized shortcut |
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Notes
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Permanent solution: flag game executable |
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Notes
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Use PsExec |
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Notes
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Use RunFirst |
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Notes
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4-Gigabyte Tuning
Windows XP and Server 2003 (x86 only): edit boot configuration file[12] |
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Windows Vista and later (x86 only): edit boot configuration database[13] |
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Notes |
Force IMAGE_FILE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE flag in executables |
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Notes
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Shoddy coded applications mess system-wide registry setting
Edit key ACL |
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Notes
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Codec hell
Reset DirectShow filters |
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Notes
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Missing codecs
Install the Windows Media Source Filter automatically[17] |
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Install the Windows Media Source Filter manually[18] |
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Install ffdshow[19] |
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QuickTime for Windows is no more[citation needed] |
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Game files missing after upgrading or refreshing Windows
- Upgrading or refreshing your Windows installation will move some files and folders to a
Windows.old
folder on the system drive.
Retrieve files from windows.old[20] |
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Non-Unicode applications might not work properly
- This is most commonly an issue with Japanese games and visual novels, and may prevent a game from being installed, launched, or even work properly (may have scrambled text or bugs).
- Locale Emulator/Microsoft AppLocale runs the application with the correct localization without affecting the rest of the operating system.
Use Locale Emulator |
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Instructions
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Use Microsoft AppLocale |
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Instructions
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Change non-Unicode language system-wide[21] |
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Instructions
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IPX protocol deprecated
- IPX was a LAN protocol commonly used with older programs, especially games. Unfortunately it was removed entirely from Vista and later with no indication of returning.
Try a wrapper[citation needed] |
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Try one of the following:
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Copy support files from Windows XP[22] |
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What you need: a working installation of Windows XP sp2. Step 1. Create a new folder c:\temp Step 2. Copy the following files to the directory c:\temp *and* to the corresponding vista directories: Note: You might need to open up an "elevated" command prompt, "run as administrator", (to get write access to directories). Windows\System32\drivers\nwlnkipx.sys Windows\System32\drivers\nwlnkflt.sys Windows\System32\drivers\nwlnkfwd.sys Windows\System32\drivers\nwlnknb.sys Windows\System32\drivers\nwlnkspx.sys Windows\System32\rtipxmib.dll Windows\System32\wshisn.dll Windows\System32\nwprovau.dll Windows\inf\netnwlnk.inf (*) Windows\inf\netnwlnk.pnf (*) (*) The directory "inf" is hidden Step 3. Go to "manage network connection" (in control panel-> network). Right click your LAN adapter connection, click "install", "protocol", "Add", Do not select the IPX that is already in the list, be sure to select "have disk". Navigate to "c:\temp" and select file "netnwlnk.inf", now select "WLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS". You will get a warning it's not verifiable, install anyway (or not..). If you get an error message about a missing module, you forgot to copy the above files to the windows 7 directories. Step 4. Reboot computer.
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Lowered volume when using background Metro/UWP apps
Instructions[citation needed] |
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Microsoft removed the MIDI Mapper
- Over the last versions of Windows, Microsoft have slowly but steadily depreciated the original Microsoft MIDI Mapper of Windows.
Use the CoolSoft MIDIMapper[23] |
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SafeDisc protected games do not work with Windows 10
- This exposes the system to known security vulnerabilities, and can make the system more susceptible to malicious attacks.
Previous versions of Windows included a compatible version of secdrv.sys
for Macrovision SafeDisc DRM; Windows 10 does not, rendering games protected by SafeDisc unplayable. According to a Microsoft representative "Safedisc is not supported on Windows 10" and people will have to wait for Trymedia to come out with an updated kernel driver, something which is impossible as official SafeDisc support was dropped on March 30, 2009.[24][25] However a workaround is to obtain and install the kernel driver from an older version of Windows, as described below.
Install SafeDisc drivers from a previous version of Windows[26] |
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Microstuttering in Multiplayer games
- The Multimedia Class Scheduler Service has built-in network throttling which can greatly degrade performance of online games.
Edit the registry[28][29] |
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WiFi background scan causes latency
- WiFi adapters periodically perform background scans to discover additional networks. Unfortunately this induces latency, see here for more info.
Universal solution[30] |
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Use WLAN Optimizer. |
Atheros adapters[31] |
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intel adapters[31] |
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Core parking causes problems with games
Quick registry hack[32][33] |
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Quick registry hack (extended, adjustable in power settings)[34] |
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Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583] "Attributes"=dword:00000000 Now adjustable in Start -> Control Panel -> Power Options -> 'Change Plan settings' -> 'Change advanced power settings' -> Processor Power Management -> Processor performance core parking min cores; 100% means all are used. |
Crashes in some games
Change Data Execution Prevention setting[35] |
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Add a DEP Exception for your game executable. Sometimes reboot needed afterwards. |
Stuttering on Creators Update 1709
Instruction[36] |
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Once the free memory is exhausted, performance takes a big hit - games with heavy caching like BF1 suffer horribly. The only way to fix it previously was restarting the computer (thus clearing the memory), which explains why it was only happening after a while and not on a fresh boot.
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Other information
Install the bundled games of Windows 7 on newer versions
- While Microsoft haven't made the games bundled with older versions of Windows easily accessible to newer versions of the operating system, it is still possible to download and install these due to efforts from the community to make them compatible with newer versions of Windows.
Download and install the desired games from this article. |
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The package includes the following games from Windows 7: |
Speed up loading of web pages in Windows
- Windows ships with Automatically detect settings enabled by default for compatibility reasons. This option allows automatic configuration of Internet connectivity in networks that supports it by using the DNS or DHCP services of the network. However support for this type of automatic configuration is almost only found within corporate or academic networks, and the feature is as such not usually required for home or small network users.
- This feature has in some instances been found to add noticeable delays when loading content from the Internet, and is therefore recommended to be disabled unless the network requires it.
- Disabling this feature affects all applications that relies on the internal IE subsystem of Windows, such as Google Chrome, Steam, and more.
Instructions[37] |
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Notes
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Changing default timer resolution
- This only concerns systems where the CPU is the limiting factor, and not the GPU, and can in some cases have a detrimental effect on performance.[38][39]
Use TimerTool to set the resolution to the maximum (0.500ms) |
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Pagefile on RAM Disk
- Recommended for 16GB RAM configurations and specific applications with limited ability of using higher amounts of RAM e.g. Photoshop 8 [42]
- It can enhance system responsiveness [43]
Use Radeon RAMDisk (formerly Dataram RAMDisk) or paid WinRamTech RAMDisk Enterprise (x64) |
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Use 2GB partition or bigger. Changing pagefile location instruction: link It may not work after first restart, but should work in next and/or PC turning off/on. Additionally turn off memory compresion |
Notes
- ↑ Users can run
powercfg /energy
in an elevated command line prompt to generate a power efficiency diagnostics report in Windows which will gather data for a minute. After a minute have passed, check the report inC:\WINDOWS\system32\energy-report.html
to identify (labeled Platform Timer Resolution:Outstanding Timer Request) which running processes requested a higher resolution and what resolution they requested.
References
- ↑ Verified by User:Aemony on 2018-08-19
- I have now experienced this on two different systems, with both Special K and ReShade while injected into games using "dxgi.dll", despite fullscreen optimizations being disabled.
- ↑ How to fix CS 30 FPS cap after Windows 10 anniversary update! :: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive General Discussions
- ↑ PCWorld - How Windows 10's Game Mode will make your PC games run better - last accessed on 2018-07-25
- ↑ PCWorld - Tested: Windows 10's Game Mode makes unplayable games playable—sometimes - last accessed on 2018-07-25
- ↑ [1] Blog entry of memory compression tests
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/PUBATTLEGROUNDS/comments/8jgz6g/disabling_control_flow_guard_in_windows_defender/
- ↑ https://www.dobreprogramy.pl/deton24/Dlaczego-moje-gry-sie-zacinaja-diagnostyka-Ustawianie-pliku-wymiany-ReadyBoost-Testy-trybu-gry-i-kompresji-pamieci-w-Windows--porady,85501.html
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/intel/comments/bpd6je/how_to_disableremove_mds_patches_on_windows_10/entn8sm//
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/3oatuw/those_of_you_gaming_on_windows_10_heres_how_i/cvw1e62/
- ↑ https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/games_windows_10/directdraw-emulation-still-broken-in-windows-10/5a619148-cf1e-4813-b733-997b996b9567
- ↑ https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=47772
- ↑ /3GB (Windows Drivers) - Microsoft Developer Network
- ↑ BCDEdit /set (Windows Drivers) - Microsoft Developer Network
- ↑ The oft-misunderstood /3GB switch – The Old New Thing
- ↑ Kernel address space consequences of the /3GB switch – The Old New Thing
- ↑ Windows Vista File and Registry Virtualisation – Richard's Weblog
- ↑ https://mcdebugrndmstuff.blogspot.com/2018/10/monopoly-tycoon-directsound-music-fix.html Monopoly Tycoon - DirectShow Fix
- ↑ https://mcdebugrndmstuff.blogspot.com/2018/10/monopoly-tycoon-directsound-music-fix.html Monopoly Tycoon - DirectShow Fix
- ↑ Tomb Raider 6 Modding Thread - www.tombraiderforums.com
- ↑ Retrieve files from the Windows.old folder - Microsoft Windows Help
- ↑ Change the system locale - Windows Help
- ↑ https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/82727f50-9e1b-4fcf-8a38-e45567938ec4/ipx-on-windows-7?forum=w7itpronetworking
- ↑ http://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/blog/2013/03/what-happened-midi-mapper-windows-8
- ↑ Microsoft Community Forums :: Age of Mythology - Windows 10
- ↑ SafeDisc End-of-Life Notice - Trymedia - Wayback Machine - last accessed on 2018-07-26
- ↑ Verified by User:KyoriAsh on 2018-07-19
- ↑ Microsoft Community - SECDRV.SYS Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of older games. - replies by EricSoAndSo - last accessed on 2019-04-18
- ↑ http://www.sevenforums.com/gaming/31980-lag-online-games-windows-7-a.html
- ↑ http://forum.sudden-strike-alliance.fr/all-problem-with-lag-on-windows-7-and-10-t2807.html
- ↑ https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-networking/is-there-any-way-to-stop-windows-10-from-scanning/3870b3d1-0f07-4875-8779-bb5c11fce0a8
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 https://superuser.com/questions/881880/turn-off-wi-fi-scanning-on-windows-8
- ↑ http://forum.cakewalk.com/Windows-7-amp-Core-Parking-a-better-way-to-Turn-It-OFF-m1861804.aspx
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucMqc5ilG7Q
- ↑ https://www.overclock.net/forum/297-general-processor-discussions/1544554-core-parking-windows-disable-more-performance.html
- ↑ https://raymanpc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=27571
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/7a0763/standby_memory_issue_causing_stutters_on_creators/
- ↑ Reddit Gaming Subreddit - Make Big Picture Quicker
- ↑ Microsoft Docs - timeBeginPeriod function - last accessed on 2019-05-31
- ↑ Random ASCII - Windows Timer Resolution: Megawatts Wasted - last accessed on 2019-05-31
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hcuYiqib9I&feature=youtu.be&t=365
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-05-31
- ↑ http://forum.pclab.pl/topic/1097866-16-giga-RAM-a-RamDisk/page__view__findpost__p__13870884
- ↑ http://forum.pclab.pl/topic/720216-Do-czego-mi-wi%C4%99cej-ni%C5%BC-4GB-ram/page__view__findpost__p__15517549